Novartis loses landmark India patent fight

File photo of an Indian activist from a health group holds a placard while participating in a protest against Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG outside their office in Mumbai (AP Photo)

Indian patients will be able to get a key cancer drug at a fraction of the price charged by its inventor, Swiss multinational Novartis, after the Supreme Court dismissed the company's efforts to win a patent on it, likely sparking more such attempts to bring costly Western medications to the masses.

Novartis had tried to extend the patent on Glivec, its treatment for blood and gastrointestinal cancer, with a modified version of the original drug.

But the apex court ruled against it on Monday on the grounds that the tweaked form was not a truly new product. Generally, multinational drug companies charge high prices for drugs protected by patents.

"It is a huge victory for human rights. A month's dose of Glivec costs around Rs. 1.2 lakh, while the generic drug costs Rs 8,000. This judgment will save the lives of the many thousands who cannot afford Rs. 1.2 lakh charged by greedy companies that keep patenting new forms of known drugs," says YK Sapru, chairman of the Cancer Patients Aid Association.

In addition to benefiting patients, the verdict will give a boost to domestic generic drug manufacturers, such as Cipla, as they can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India.

It is a big blow to multinationals banking on easy patent power, and will also reignite a debate in the West about intellectual property protection in India. The new form of Glivec enjoys patent protection in more than 40 countries.

The bench of justice Aftab Alam and justice Ranjana Prakash Desai said that no material had been offered to prove that the new form of Glivec would produce enhanced or superior efficacy "apart from the adroit submissions of the counsel".

Novartis India, the Swiss major's Indian arm, described the verdict as a "setback for original innovation", and said the company will not invest on R&D in the country.